A Year of Destiny and History

I started this year with The Egyptian Book of the Dead in my mind, finding in it a document of incredible abstraction and a sense of accomplishment. In the middle of January, reports that KV64 had been found in the Valley of Kings were met with mild interest; even though the 21st dynasty mummy was intact, it did not measure up to the discovery of KV63. Perhaps it was the very nature of the discovery that was apparent at once, while KV63 was a slow striptease as the debris was removed?

Around the same time, I published, Three Old Kingdom Statuettes in the Brooklyn Museum which, funny enough, was better received than my "Popular Posts" widget says. I guess I added it late to the widget, as the article should be in my top ten. January ended at the crocodile museum at Kom Ombo, which was inaugurated on the first anniversary of the Egyptian revolution. The end of February brought this site's biggest runner of the year in, Khufu's Ships Burn".

It is also within February that a British couple attempted to smuggle cheap trinkets and got caught in Luxor Airport, though there was some debate that they were actually trying to smuggle the objects. Towards the end of March, we find thieves stealing two Kiswa (embroidered tapestry) from the Khedive Tawfiq mausoleum.

At the end of April, readers of Egyptians showed enthusiasm for the review of the 1924 book "Egypt by H.H. Powers. Mr. Powers was quite a character.  The Carter Carnarvon Connection was also one of this year's biggest runners.

In the summer came theological silliness in the 1932 book "Great Pyramid Proof of God", the amusing book screamed failure right from the title, though I was reading a 1960, twelfth printing of the book. Later in July, the remains of a boat of the First Dynasty King Den were discovered at Abu Rawash.

Most exciting from this past summer came the notes of the excavator of the Valley of Kings tomb KV35, the tomb of Amenhotep II, which were found in Milan's Egyptology archives. Victor Loret found the tomb in 1898, and much to the delight of the Egyptology world, an unknown photo of the mummy found on a boat in that tomb was discovered, which potentially solved this long destroyed mummy's identity, The Mummy on the Boat.

In November, Dr. Miroslav Barta and the Czech Institute of Egyptology discovered at Abu Sir the tombs of officials of the Old Kingdom and, oddly, a fifth-dynasty princess named Shert Nebty. November ended with the announcement that Valley of Kings tomb KV8, the tomb of King Merenptah, was now open to the public and that the largest sarcophagus in the valley had been reconstructed from its pieces found in the tomb.

From the beginning of December, the publication of  Animal tombs in the Valley of Kings has been well received and the last runner of the year for this site. The year ends with the discovery that Pharaoh Ramesses III was probably murdered as a result of a conspiracy in his harem, long known about from surviving judicial documents of the time.

What can I say except thank you all, as the year ends, Egyptians is breaking all of its records and having its best year to date!

Amenhotep's Toe

A dramatic event has taken place among the royal mummies when workers entered the royal mummy room of Cairo's museum and found that the big toe on Amenhotep II's right foot had fallen off. No, it is not a bad case of leprosy, and sure, maybe it is not that dramatic, but it is a reality that the mummies of the pharaohs are disintegrating, and we, the observers, will watch as time passes, as heads, hands, and faces collapse and fall off.

It is a reality that no one knows better than those who are responsible for organic exhibits that they cannot last forever. In the case of the mummies of the pharaohs, the viewers will watch as, over time, each one is slowly vested in its linen wrappings.

"On this day the high priest of Amon Re king of gods Pinudjem son of the high priest of Amon Piank commanded the overseeer of the great treasury Payneferher to repeat the burial of King Aaenre"

Note:
Docket found on the mummy of Thutmosis II: Theban Royal Mummy Project

Jewels of the Pharaohs

Cyril Aldred
Ballantine Books
New York
1978
ISBN 0-345-27819-4

How is it that I have had this book in my collection for so many years, by the late great Cyril Aldred, and yet never read it? This nicely sized book is only 128 pages, including many black and white pictures, but what makes it special is that it features 64 full pages of colored pictures of pharaonic jewelry.


Mr. Aldred opens his book with a rundown of the great caches of pharaonic jewels discovered in the 19th and 20th centuries, including the jewels of the 17th dynasty King's Wife Aahotep, jewels that founded Cairo's jewelry collection. From here, the author is on to the materials used in ancient Egyptian jewelry, where various metals, stones, and minerals were found, and the technologies employed in their use.


We are on to the goldsmiths, designers, and various lapidaries and glass makers working the raw materials into shape. Mr. Aldred describes various important tombs of gold workers at Thebes, Memphis, and Amarna, and what their owners' positions would have entailed.


In chapter 5, Mr. Aldred delves deeper into the artisan's techniques, including the effect of foreign influences upon the Egyptian craftsmen. We are being directed by Mr. Aldred to the colored pictures at the back to simply and effectively demonstrate his points.



For ease, I recommend two bookmarks as the colored pictures are vital to this book, and you are going to want to flip to them often. Mr. Aldred's words on the forms Egyptian jewelry has taken over the ages, with the excellent colored images, are enlightening on the subject of ancient pharaonic royal adornments.


We are next on to the bios of each jewel with its known findspot, the discoverers, and even items that were stolen during excavation or before. Mr. Aldred starts off with the 1st dynasty bracelets found on the arm recovered from the tomb of King Djer at Abydos by Flinders Petrie.


Unusual items include a gold fillet and necklace from a 4th dynasty princess at Giza and the apron of the early 12th dynasty Lady Senebtisi from Lisht. Certainly, the crowns kept in Cairo of Princess Khnumet cannot be overlooked on such a subject, especially since one appears to have been made when the princess became queen.


My absolute favorite Egyptian jewel is the late 12th dynasty gold necklace of Queen Mereret found at Dashur near the pyramid of Sesosteris III. The goldsmiths of the royal court of this dynasty created in its jewels an epoch of quality workmanship to which very few pieces outside this period can measure up.


Queen Aahotep's jewels are a perfect example of this, as the 17th dynasty queens' ornaments are coarse and rude in comparison, though there is one piece in her jewels that artistically rises above the rest. It is a gold scarab inlaid with lapis lazuli on a very attractive chain, which was found on the queen's now destroyed mummy, employed as a heart scarab.


A century later, the jewels of the three wives of King Thutmosis III are a better lot in quality, though they do not measure up to the work of the 12th dynasty goldsmiths. Still, they do possess charm, with some notable pieces being the gold head cover of one of the queens, as well as the only known belt for a woman surviving from ancient Egypt.


The treasure of these queens was left in pieces and separated into several lots, which were then combined with fakes. The jewels were skilfully restored by the Metropolitan Museum of New York, where they are displayed today.


I am at this point struck by how the poorly preserved broad collar of King Smenkhkare found on the breast of the king's mummy in Valley of the Kings tomb KV 55, as well as many of Tutankhamun's gold pieces, have tarnished and are made with low-quality gold. I cannot help but wonder if the goldsmiths were pinching the Amarna king's gold, replacing some of it with lesser metals, which would not have been apparent until long after burial?


The images of Tutankhamun's jewels show some very impressive works of art, including plate 72 we find the rarely seen stole of the king, a beauty. Also within this same image is a most exquisite inlaid gold vulture on a rope. The king's earrings and studs pictured in plate 84 are also rarely published.


Mr. Aldred closes off his book with royal jewels up to Egypt's 22nd dynasty, with one later exception. The book is something to be examined/savored for the comparisons of various eras' workmanship are simply put forward.


Cyril Aldred has produced a book which is suitable for all ages, as it is they will love the pictures, but ages ten and up will feel the full effect of this fine book. Definitely, "Jewels of the Pharaohs" is one of the best books I have read this year, and a book I will revisit for reference in the years to come.


Notes:

Pectoral of Senusret II: John Campana

Stag Circlet: Art History Spot

Queen Mereret's Jewels: Tour Egypt

The Murder of Ramesses III: Revision

Recent CT scans on the mummy of ancient Egypt's last great Pharaoh, Rameses III, have found evidence that the king was murdered by having his throat slit. The murder of Ramesses was long suspected from a 3000 year old document known as the Harem Conspiracy Papyrus.

The papyrus is a court record which tells of a plot within Ramesses' harem in order to put a son on the throne who was not in line to be king. These events took place as Egypt's great period of Empire was in decline, with the 20th dynasty King Ramesses III being the last significant king of the New Kingdom.

The papyrus tells us that one of Ramesses' wives wanted her son Pentaware to take the throne over Ramesses' namesake and rightful heir. She enlisted a number of officials and the aid of black magic to these ends, including the making of wax figures.

The conspiracy was found out, and all were put to death, with the guilty royal family members involved being allowed to commit suicide. The fate of Ramesses has never been fully understood until the CT scans of the pharaoh's throat recently revealed a deep cut across the neck below the larynx, a cut that almost certainly would have caused the king's immediate death.

Also present and never seen before, the scientists found an eye of Horus amulet embedded in the wound. After more than 3000 years, it appears that the conspiracy was successful. As a side note to the story, tests have shown that a screaming mummy found with Ramesses III in 1881 and today known as unknown man E, is in fact a son of Ramesses III and possibly the disgraced prince allowed to commit suicide Pentaware.

There are conflicting articles on this subject, so I present the article from Al Ahram, which appears to show a picture of the back of the mummy's neck, though I think it may be a CT scan of the pharaoh's throat. I would think if it were on the back of the neck, it would have been noticed by now?